MINTO – Town council here has approved the purchase of a new backhoe for about $200,000.
At its March 21 meeting, Minto council approved the purchase of a Case 580SN W/T unit from Mississauga-based Strongo Limited Partnership for $219,171 excluding HST.
A tender call by the town, for a backhoe loader with extendable dipper stick attachment and four-wheel drive, resulted in three submission.
The other tenders were both higher than the Strongo bid, with the highest price offered by Brant Tractor, at $233,155.
The total price of the successful tender includes a tractor unit, clam bucket, snow pusher blade and a five-year, 4,000-hour full machine warranty.
A staff report indicates all three submissions met the general criteria in the tender document with minor variations.
“Each supplier is readily accessible for repairs either at their facility and/or, they have the ability to provide mobile technical support at our site” states the report.
“Staff has working knowledge and experience with various makes and models of equipment provided by each of manufacturers.”
Comparable bids
“With all three pieces being relatively comparable, with their own individual nuances specific to that piece of equipment, based on price alone it’s kind of hard to go outside (the low bid),” noted roads and drainage manager Mike McIsaac.
Councillor Ron Elliott said the town already owns two backhoes.
“We’re going to have three? Or you’re eliminating one?” he asked.
“We are actually going to try to utilize our oldest one up in Clifford, just to cut down on some of the wear and tear,” McIsaac explained.
“And if it becomes to be too much of a maintenance issue, then we can eliminate that from the fleet.”
